TheRetrofitSource (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/)was running a Black Friday special on its full retrofit kits, so I finally pulled the trigger on a bixenon Mini H1 kit (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/complete-retrofit-kits/bi-xenon-morimoto-mini-stage-3-kit-h1.html#.Uurx8bSNKQk). Installation was really quite simple, but since I couldn't find a "how to" on here for Foxes, I decided to write one.
1) Disconnect the bulb retaining ring and wiring hardness from your main headlight housing. Remove the three retaining nuts, and wiggle the housing out from the front of the car. Remove the bulb.
2) On a clean flat surface, unpack your new box of goodies. The kit comes with the items pictured below - two each of xenon bulb, housing shroud, and shroud locating ring; as well as the projector, several soft washers, several metal washers, and the hardware to connect the bulb to the projector and wiring.
View attachment 120157
View attachment 120158
3) Bake your housing in the oven. Time and temperature will vary by oven; with my old electric unit, 10 mins at 200 wasn't enough, but adding another 10 minutes at 250 was too much. YMMV, so increase time and/or temp slowly. If you bake it too long, you're liable to get this when you try to reassemble:
View attachment 120159
4) After 10 mins at 250, pull the housing out of the oven and set it on a burn-safe surface (wooden cutting board perhaps). Gently pry between the plastic lens and the main housing with a flat screwdriver or chisel in several spots until you can grasp the lens with your hands and pull it away from the housing.
5) Remove the retaining nut from the back of the projector housing. Place one of the soft washers (I selected the larger one) onto the threaded shaft, and insert the shaft through the hole where the bulb went. Check relative fit, and note a location where you'd like the wires to run. Remove the projector, and drill a small hole (large enough for the projector wires to fit through) in the housing...most likely directly under the "bulb hole," as it will be most hidden from view there.
View attachment 120160
6) Before refitting the projector, you'll have to remove the collar on the back of the headlight housing that previously accepted the bulb retaining ring. As noted in the picture below, the projector retaining nut will fit inside the collar; but you'll have a heck of a time getting it tight with the collar in the way. Use a Dremel or grinding wheel.
View attachment 120161
7) Refit the projector and soft washer, and pass the projector wires through the small hole you drilled earlier. On the backside of the housing, slip one of the metal washers over the threaded shaft (they are stock-bulb-specific, but not for our cars; in Foxbodies, these will serve simply to solidify the projector-to-housing connection), and spin the retaining nut on. TRS advises not tightening it down all the way until you've got the housings back in the car and aimed properly. The nut is designed to deform upon full installation, for a "permanent" fit. I found that I was able to back the nut off after hand tightening it...just in case.
View attachment 120162
8) The kit comes with projector shrouds, which hide the unfinished portion of the projector housing. Insert the locating ring into the shroud...
View attachment 120163
...and then fit the shroud over the projector. Below is what it should look like...
View attachment 120164
...however I found that this little protrusion at the top of our headlight housing prevented the shroud from fitting all the way on the projector, and consequently it hit the lens. Since I'm not sure what this "clip" does, I elected to simply not install the shrouds.
9) Put the housing and the lens back in the oven for whatever time/temp you used before. Once "done," pull them back out and quickly refit the lens onto the housing. You'll want to hold both pieces together for a minute or two to ensure a tight seal; if desired, you can also apply additional sealant of your choosing before refitting.
10) Install the bulb into the housing, and reinstall the housing on the car. The kit also comes with slim ballasts, and a full wiring harness with relay. Each connection on the harness and relays is labeled, and only fits into one matching spot on the other - pretty self-explanatory. Install the ballasts and loom/zip tie the wiring into the locations of your choosing.
All that's left to do is test fire the lights, and go aim them. There are plenty of "how to's" on aiming HIDs in Googleville
but in a nutshell, you park your car X feet from a flat wall that's perpendicular to your parking area, make some measurements on the wall, and adjust the lights accordingly. I don't have an "after" picture yet, since I buggered one of my lenses as noted earlier, and since it's 15* with salt-covered roads here.
1) Disconnect the bulb retaining ring and wiring hardness from your main headlight housing. Remove the three retaining nuts, and wiggle the housing out from the front of the car. Remove the bulb.
2) On a clean flat surface, unpack your new box of goodies. The kit comes with the items pictured below - two each of xenon bulb, housing shroud, and shroud locating ring; as well as the projector, several soft washers, several metal washers, and the hardware to connect the bulb to the projector and wiring.
View attachment 120157
View attachment 120158
3) Bake your housing in the oven. Time and temperature will vary by oven; with my old electric unit, 10 mins at 200 wasn't enough, but adding another 10 minutes at 250 was too much. YMMV, so increase time and/or temp slowly. If you bake it too long, you're liable to get this when you try to reassemble:
View attachment 120159
4) After 10 mins at 250, pull the housing out of the oven and set it on a burn-safe surface (wooden cutting board perhaps). Gently pry between the plastic lens and the main housing with a flat screwdriver or chisel in several spots until you can grasp the lens with your hands and pull it away from the housing.
5) Remove the retaining nut from the back of the projector housing. Place one of the soft washers (I selected the larger one) onto the threaded shaft, and insert the shaft through the hole where the bulb went. Check relative fit, and note a location where you'd like the wires to run. Remove the projector, and drill a small hole (large enough for the projector wires to fit through) in the housing...most likely directly under the "bulb hole," as it will be most hidden from view there.
View attachment 120160
6) Before refitting the projector, you'll have to remove the collar on the back of the headlight housing that previously accepted the bulb retaining ring. As noted in the picture below, the projector retaining nut will fit inside the collar; but you'll have a heck of a time getting it tight with the collar in the way. Use a Dremel or grinding wheel.
View attachment 120161
7) Refit the projector and soft washer, and pass the projector wires through the small hole you drilled earlier. On the backside of the housing, slip one of the metal washers over the threaded shaft (they are stock-bulb-specific, but not for our cars; in Foxbodies, these will serve simply to solidify the projector-to-housing connection), and spin the retaining nut on. TRS advises not tightening it down all the way until you've got the housings back in the car and aimed properly. The nut is designed to deform upon full installation, for a "permanent" fit. I found that I was able to back the nut off after hand tightening it...just in case.
View attachment 120162
8) The kit comes with projector shrouds, which hide the unfinished portion of the projector housing. Insert the locating ring into the shroud...
View attachment 120163
...and then fit the shroud over the projector. Below is what it should look like...
View attachment 120164
...however I found that this little protrusion at the top of our headlight housing prevented the shroud from fitting all the way on the projector, and consequently it hit the lens. Since I'm not sure what this "clip" does, I elected to simply not install the shrouds.
9) Put the housing and the lens back in the oven for whatever time/temp you used before. Once "done," pull them back out and quickly refit the lens onto the housing. You'll want to hold both pieces together for a minute or two to ensure a tight seal; if desired, you can also apply additional sealant of your choosing before refitting.
10) Install the bulb into the housing, and reinstall the housing on the car. The kit also comes with slim ballasts, and a full wiring harness with relay. Each connection on the harness and relays is labeled, and only fits into one matching spot on the other - pretty self-explanatory. Install the ballasts and loom/zip tie the wiring into the locations of your choosing.
All that's left to do is test fire the lights, and go aim them. There are plenty of "how to's" on aiming HIDs in Googleville
but in a nutshell, you park your car X feet from a flat wall that's perpendicular to your parking area, make some measurements on the wall, and adjust the lights accordingly. I don't have an "after" picture yet, since I buggered one of my lenses as noted earlier, and since it's 15* with salt-covered roads here.
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